It was left there Tuesday on purpose. The tree was put there reluctantly by a resident of the Boston Danvers Hotel.

Tenants who live there are under a state program for homeless families. They were told all trees, even non-flammable artificial trees, are a safety hazard. They said they were ordered by inspectors to get rid of them.

The inspectors are apparently from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development.

Michelle McCollough, who has lived in the hotel two years, said she couldn’t believe it.

“So they knocked on my door and said they wanted to inspect. I was in the room with my five children. The next thing he did was look at my tree and he said, ‘that has to go.’ And I said, ‘what has to go?’ He said my tree and my 6-year-old said, ‘The tree can't go. Santa Claus won't come.’ And I said, ‘Are you guys serious?’” she said.

It didn’t just end with trees. The inspectors reportedly said the rules mean nothing can hang on the walls.

“They are fire hazards,” Melanie Scibilia said.

She was told everybody in the hotel had to get rid of trees and stockings on walls.

She took down a four-foot Charlie Brown tree, despite protests from her son.

“I took the lights off of it and everything. My son is like, ‘Mom don’t get rid of it. Don’t get rid of it,’” Scibilia said.

The father of a 5-year-old girl, who did not want his named used, said it robs the homeless of dignity.

“It’s hard for kids here to have a Christmas. The kids were extremely sad when it came to taking down the Christmas trees, it means they couldn't exactly have that you know celebration of the season,” he said.